


Indoctrination

by soldiermom1973



Series: 1,000 years (A Reconciliation Story) [45]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect - Various Authors, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Anxiety, Cuddle, Dreams, F/M, Fluff, Gen, N7 Month 2020, N7 month, Nightmare, Other, Panic, Post-War, indoctrination, let me take care of you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:40:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27422104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973
Summary: Allie has a nightmare that leaves her pretty shaken.  Kaidan is there to help calm her down.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Allie Shepard, Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard
Series: 1,000 years (A Reconciliation Story) [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1460416
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Indoctrination

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [N7 Month](https://n7month.tumblr.com/post/631981099607785472/n7-month-2020) over on tumblr. The Day 6 prompt was 'Indoctrination'.

Allie stood at the war table, studying a hologram of the galaxy. It was getting difficult to read the information in front of her – pulsing, blue orbs indicating untouched worlds were quickly being devoured by pulsing, red orbs that indicated the Reapers aggressive advance. Everything was in place, though – they knew where Kai Leng had taken the Prothean VI and were on their way there to retrieve the information they needed to finish the Crucible.

Her inner circle surrounded her, helping solidify their plan of attack. It was decided that EDI, at her suggestion, accompany the ground team since she was familiar with Cerberus protocols and could easily override them. Kaidan would also come along and not just for his combat abilities – Allie still felt like she needed to prove to him she hadn't changed and could be trusted and where better to do that than Cerberus Headquarters.

Just as she was ready to dismiss them so Joker could plot the relay jumps, James spoke up. “Have we considered the possibility of the Illusive Man being right?”

Allie's jaw dropped and the rest of her friends glanced nervously at each other. “Considered him being right? James, did you drop one of your weights on your head? He isn't right. We can't control the Reapers. We need to destroy them.”

She was incredulous when Tali cleared her throat and chimed in her support of James's idea. “If anyone could control them, Shepard, it would be you. Didn't Liara tell you that cipher you got would have killed anyone with a weaker mind?”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the group and Allie's heart hammered in fear. “What is going on with you guys? We need to destroy the Reapers.”

Everyone in the war room turned to face her and Allie was horrified to see their eyes had taken on the same eerie blue glow that Reaper troops had. She tried backing away from them but tripped on the steps and landed hard.

Kaidan was by her side and helped her stand, though his grip on her arm was a little tighter than necessary. “I think you could do it, Allie,” he murmured. “Imagine how far we could go if we had all of the information stored inside the Reapers. Improved space travel, more efficient mining, medical breatkthroughs...”

“Kaidan, let go. You're hurting me,” Allie whispered. He turned his head and she noticed black tendrils of Reaper tech spreading through his flesh. Gone were the warm honey-brown irises that used to send shivers down her spine. Instead, they glowed with an unnatural blue that couldn't be blamed on his biotics. “Oh, God, you're indoctrinated!” she cried out.

She yanked her arm free and tried to push through the crowd to get to the cockpit, hoping Joker had somehow been spared. Her friends grasped at her arms and the fabric of her shirt, but she managed to wriggle free and sprinted toward the scanner.

The two door guards rose from their seats as Allie silently willed the screening process to move a little faster. “Commander,” Private Westmorland greeted her. “Is there a problem?”

“No, no, everything is fine.” Allie did a double-take when she noticed the women guarding the war room had the same indoctrinated-looking blue eyes, but not the black tech creeping up their necks.

“Are you sure? You seem distressed,” Private Campbell said, reaching for Allie's arm.

Allie spun away just as the doors closed. She noticed her friends were following behind her, not moving with any kind of hurried pace. If anything, their shambling reminded Allie of the old human zombie movies she watched when she was younger.

She raced through the CIC, calling Joker's name and shutting the door behind her when she entered the cockpit. “Joker, you aren't going to believe, this, but the whole damn crew is indoctrinated. We need to...”

“Are you sure? Everything seems fine from up here.” Her pilot spun in his chair and Allie screamed when she saw Joker's familiar brown beard and SR-2 ball cap had been replaced completely by a husk's head. His hand flew out and grabbed her wrist and he started chanting her name. Soon, the cockpit was filled with her friends and crew, all turning into Reaper troops before her eyes, their voices overlapping as they talked about controlling the reapers, that it was the right thing to do to save the galaxy, repeating her name over and over and over....

Allie raised her hands to cover her ears and noticed she, too, was turning into a husk. The voices she heard that she thought belonged to her friends were now actually coming from inside her own head, telling her that the Illusive Man was right, that the Reapers could be controlled, that it was the only way to save the galaxy. She could feel her thoughts slipping away and cried out as her friends reached for her, grabbing her arms, pulling her toward the floor and oblivion. Kaidan's voice still stood out to her, though, calling her name, more and more frantically...

Allie woke up, still in the throes of her nightmare, trying to swing her arms and break free from her imagined captors. Her final scream died on her lips as she became more aware of her surroundings – she was on her side, enveloped in Kaidan's arms. He had even thrown one of his legs over hers and she could only imagine how she must have been flailing in her sleep for him to hold her so tightly. Her face was pressed against his chest so when she spoke, her voice was muffled.

“Kaidan, I can't breathe.”

He quickly pulled back and gave Allie the air she needed. “I'm sorry, but you were swinging in your sleep. You clocked me pretty good and your biotics flared... I had to use a dampening field.”

It was then Allie realized she felt drained, a familiar side effect of someone using that tech ability. Garrus showed Kaidan how to use it back when they were chasing Saren. She felt a pang of guilt that she not only hurt him but that her nightmare forced him to do that to her.

“I'm sorry, Kaidan.” Allie looked at her love and cradled his face in her hands. She examined every inch of his face for signs of indoctrination, breathing a sigh of relief when her brain finally registered that it was really him – no glowing blue eyes, no creepy Reaper tech inching across his skin, no weird voices in her own head. She held her hands out in front of her, again looking for the telltale signs she was becoming less human and more husk.

“Don't apologize,” he soothed, pulling her against him again. “What were you dreaming? It must have been terrifying, Allie, I've never heard you scream like that.”

Allie screwed her eyes shut as she gave him the short version of her dream – how they had all become indoctrinated and were turning into husks. “I've never had a dream like that Kaidan. Not during the war, not after when I was in the hospital, never. And it seemed so real...” her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath, finally finding some peace as she inhaled Kaidan's familiar scent.

“Well, it wasn't. I'm here, you're here, and neither of us is hearing strange voices in our heads.”

Allie nodded and nestled herself against Kaidan's chest. He responded by wrapping his arms tighter around her and kissing the top of her head. “Are you ok?” he asked, his voice soft and soothing.

“I will be,” came the murmured response. “What time is it?”

“Early,” Kaidan answered, checking his wrist. “Not quite four yet.”

Allie sighed and shook her head. She knew there was no way she'd be able to go back to sleep, not unless she took some meds and that was something she really didn't want to do. True, she had the next day off, but she had things she wanted to do and spending the day sleeping off her medication wasn't on that list.

Kaidan seemed to sense her unease and offered to fix popcorn and put on a movie. “But you have to be up in a couple of hours,” she said.

“I could call in a sub. I have more sick time than I'll probably ever use in this lifetime,” he said. “I could stay here, spend the day with you.”

Allie pressed her lips together at his offer. It meant the world to her that he was willing to take a sick day just to stay by her side and comfort her. “I can't ask you to do that, Kaidan. And it's stupid. It was just a bad dream...”

“A dream that upset you,” he reminded her. “Like I said, I've never seen you like that, so I know it was worse than you're letting on.” 

Allie pulled back and studied his face, finally noticing the red welt on his cheek. She reached out and gingerly touched it, stammering an apology when he winced. “Kaidan, I'm sorry...”

“It's ok,” he said, meshing their fingers together. “You didn't do any permanent damage. Nothing a little medi-gel and maybe a kiss won't fix.”

He gave her an impish grin and Allie couldn't help but chuckle. She leaned forward and tenderly brushed her lips across his cheek, her grin growing when he sighed.

“That feels better already. So, what do you say? A day in, pillow fort, comfort food, no distractions?”

Allie considered his offer – her heart was still racing and while it was obvious neither she nor Kaidan was at risk of becoming a husk, past experience told her a dream that vivid wouldn't be so easy to shake off. She finally nodded her head and said, “Yeah, that all sounds like a good idea.”

“Of course it does,” he scoffed, pulling her against his chest. “I only ever have good ideas.”

Allie pulled back and gave him a dubious look and he replied, “No comment from the peanut gallery, either.”

She chuckled and let Kaidan pull her against his chest again. “How did I get so lucky?” she wondered as he kissed the top of her head.

“I ask myself the same thing about you every day,” he replied. “I must be pretty special for the Savior of the Galaxy to trust me enough to take care of her when she needs it.”

“You are special, Kaidan,” came the whispered answer. “Don't think for a second I'll ever forget, either.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really love how much these two love each other. It's so nauseatingly sweet and I'm not jealous or anything. Ugh.


End file.
